


The Way to a Lady's Heart

by Legal_Assassin



Series: ShuHaru Week 2019 [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Coffee, Coffee Dad Sakura Sojiro, Despite not appearing in this fic, F/M, Shuharu Week 2019, Sojiro is best wingman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 08:45:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18634756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legal_Assassin/pseuds/Legal_Assassin
Summary: Maybe what Sojiro said wasn't so ridiculous after all.





	The Way to a Lady's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> First day of NextTrickAnvils' ShuHaru Week
> 
> Day 1 is Coffee/Heroes
> 
> Going with Coffee like everyone else seems to be doing. *shrugs*
> 
> Takes place sometime between rank 7 and 8 of the Empress Confidant.

It only took a few seconds for Haru to answer the door after Ren rang the doorbell. She smiled when she saw him and opened the door wider. "I'm glad you could make it, Ren-kun," she said. "Please, come inside."

Ren followed Haru to the kitchen while his eyes wandered around. It was the first time he'd been in her house and it was different from what he'd expected when he saw it from the outside. High ceilings, open rooms, and sparse furniture; it was very spacious. And empty, especially considering that only one person lived here now.

The kitchen was smaller, but immaculate. There were no appliances or tools out of place or food spills, save for a goose-necked kettle on the stove and a coffee dripper and an accompanying grinder on the counter. Other than that, it looked like no one had ever used it.

"Thank you again for your help," Haru said as she searched through the cabinets. "I know that the dripper came with instructions, but I would rather hear from someone with more experience. And I don't want to bother Boss while he's working."

"Leblanc wasn't that busy when I stopped by anyways." Ren placed the bag he'd been carrying on the counter. "Speaking of which, Boss let me bring some beans with for practice."

"Oh! He didn't have to," Haru said, closing the cabinet. "I had some that I was going to use."

"Well, when I told him that I was helping you out, he kind of insisted that I take some with," Ren said with a sigh. "As long as it wasn't any of the expensive beans."

He purposefully left out how Sojiro had smiled in that smug, knowing way and said "I told you ladies like a man who makes good coffee." That wasn't something Haru ever needed to know. Ever.

When Ren had agreed to that deal with Sojiro -- helping out at Leblanc in exchange for learning how to make a good cup of coffee -- he hadn't actually been that interested in Sojiro's end. Ren just felt that it was only fair to help out at the place he was staying at, as well as looking as responsible (and not suspicious) as possible. Coffee-brewing had turned out to be an added benefit; there was something nice about enjoying a cup he made while studying or reading a book. And the coffee's properties in the Metaverse were a pleasant surprise.

If that hadn't been enough, it also appealed to Ren's competitive side. Ever since Sojiro had said his first cup wasn't too good, Ren had made it his personal mission to make a cup that the old man would have to call good. So he kept at it when he could. He even began to enjoy each step of it; the whirring of the grinder, the drip of coffee into the pot, and the finished aroma. And when Haru asked him for help learning to brew, he was more than happy to share something he enjoyed with her.

Ren's goal had never been to get ladies to like him like Sojiro had thought. It was just something he realized he liked. That damn old man just had to keep projecting his Casanova-esque past onto Ren.

Haru eased the bag of coffee beans open. "So which beans are these?" she asked.

"Colombian Narino," Ren said. "This was one of the first ones I tried brewing, actually."

"Oh, really?" she asked. "How did it turn out?"

"He said it was bland."

Haru giggled at that. "That was mean! Although... Boss does have high standards when it comes to coffee."

"Yeah. He actually threatened to kick me out if I ever served a bad cup to a customer," Ren said. "I thought he was joking, but he looked dead serious."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Haru said. "He cares too much deep dow--" The kettle began whistling. "Oh! The water's done! I suppose we should get started grinding the beans." She went to take the kettle off the stove, but Ren beat her to it.

"I got this. You should take care of the beans," he said. "You remember what grind?"

"Medium to fine, right?" Haru asked. After a nod from Ren, she began scooping beans out of the bag and into the grinder. Ren, meanwhile, had set up the dripper and was pouring water along the sides of the filter paper. Haru stopped when she saw this. "Oh, is this a step, too?" she asked.

"You have to run water through the paper first," Ren explained. "Otherwise the coffee gets a papery taste. I'm taking care of this since it's pretty easy. You just do it like you would when brewing."

Haru beamed at him and his heart almost stopped. "See? It's good that I have someone with experience," she said.

Ren ducked his head to hide his heated face. He pulled the kettle away from the dripper before he poured all the water out, then emptied the papery water from the pot. Once Haru had the beans ground, he guided her through the proper way to pour water over the grounds. Within a few minutes they had a pot of coffee, enough for the both of them. Haru poured two cups and the two sat down to drink.

"How is it?" she asked once Ren took a sip.

He frowned. "It's a bit bland," he said. "You might have poured it a little too fast."

"Oh..." Her face fell.

"I'm sure it's better than the one I made the first time," Ren said quickly. "You got the texture of the grounds right. You just need to work on your brewing technique. Keep practicing and you'll get it right."

"I'm glad you told me that," Haru said, her mood bouncing back. "Now I know what to work on while the beans grow."

"How are they, by the way?" he asked.

"The cherries are almost ripe," she said. "Once they're done growing, all that's left is to dry them before the beans can be roasted." She looked pensive. "This will be the first time I try a brew from beans I grew. I wonder how it will taste?"

"Well, it'll taste fine no matter what if you get your technique right," Ren said. "I'm sure Takakura-san will agree."

Haru nodded, then smiled at him. "I'm sure I'll get it right. I have a fine teacher helping me, after all."

Ren ignored his heart thumping against his chest while they continued talking about coffee until the brew was finished. And as he left Haru's home with the promise to come by again when he could, he thought that maybe what Sojiro had said about making coffee wasn't as ridiculous as he had first thought.


End file.
